Originally Posted by peripatetic
Don't go above 50 bucks: that rear wheel is going to be expensive, unless you just re-dish it yourself and use loc-tite, which honestly just seems like a PIA. My only words to you: go with a bike with all steel components. Also, don't try and convert an old Raleigh three-speed frame. Try and get something with cotterless cranks (see sheldon brown for info) and alloy/non-steel components. Otherwise, it'll all be heavy, and you'll end up wanting to buy better components anyway, and that'll all run you up!
Thanks, peripatetic. Thats great advice. But you've confused me a bit. You say to get a bike with all steel components and also get it with alloy/non-steel components to keep the weight down.
I'll try to minimize my initial cost. And if throwing some extra bucks on the rear-wheel makes my life easier on this first project then it's probably worth it.